I get it! You are in charge of sales, payroll, HR, stocking the shelves, cleaning the floors, getting the bills paid, marketing the company AND maintaining the website… ETC, ETC.. So, things can get overlooked or neglected.

Over the past few months, I have run across #9 & #24 at an alarming rate!

Chances are that you either built the website yourself or you had a neighbors’ kid do it for you since you were on a shoestring budget. Or, it’s just been forever since you touched the website because you are busy.

I have worked with hundreds of small businesses over my past 12 years in digital marketing and here is a list of 27 things that we see that get missed by small businesses on their websites all the time.

David Clark- Owner, Attraxios

So, here is our 29 Credibility Killing Small Business Website Mistakes…..

1. Missing Email Signup Box

This is the number one and easiest way to collect a little bit of data from your website visitors. So, you need to make sure this is on your website. Email Marketing, when done correctly, has the highest ROI of any digital marketing tool out there. The key to getting people to leave their emails for you is pretty simple, Give them something of value. Whether it is a promotional discount for signing up like 10% off their next order, or if it’s the promise to deliver content to them that will make their business better or lives easier. The name of the game is Value. The more value you offer, the more likely you will get that little nugget of gold from them.

2. Email Signup Box Not Connected to an email marketing program like Constant Contact

So, you have people leaving you their email addresses, GREAT! But, you have to copy and paste them over to your email marketing provider software before every email blast you send. That is a HUGE waste of time. Make sure that you have your email signup box connected to your My Emma, Constant Contact, Mail Chimp accounts.. It will save you time and money. Want to learn more about Constant Contact? Click HERE

3. Hard To Find Social Media Links

You spend all this time posting on social media and you wonder why it’s so hard to grow your following but your social media icons are either very small and at the bottom of your website or worse yet not on your website at all!! Make sure you put these links high and make sure they are colored in a fashion so they stand out.

-Or incorrectly or nonlinked icons. Make sure they link to YOUR page, and not just to the homepages of the social media websites.

4.  Bad or Cheesy Stock Images

         Photography alone will set you apart from your competition and increase the trustworthiness of your brand more than just about anything on your website. And, people are smart when it comes to this these days. They know if the pics are not real. So, if you want to look like a pro then get rid of those goofy stock images ASAP.

5.  Poor SEO: missing or generic title tags and meta descriptions

         Having the chance for your website to show up in search results is a big deal. “Organic traffic” to your website is one of the most vital forms of traffic that you can acquire. So, you should make sure that you have descriptive and unique title tags and meta descriptions for every single page on your website. When people do a search for your type of business you will have a better chance of being seen and getting the lead. The homepage title tag should have the main service you offer and your geographic location, the meta description for this page should talk about what you do and give some credibility as in years of service etc…All, your other pages should cover the main service or product specific to that page. ( Learn more about SEO aka Search Engine Optimization approach here)

6. Non “Mobile-Friendly” Websites

What is a mobile-friendly” website? It’s a website that has a version that can be easily used on a phone. If your website looks the exact same on a desktop or laptop as it does your phone you are in trouble. As of 2019, over 60% of all searches are done on a mobile device. And, somewhere around 25% of all websites are still not responsive or mobile-friendly. So, this is a HUGE issue. Google will also ding your website in search results if you are not mobile-friendly which hurts your traffic and the number of leads you could get from your website. Below is a great chart to show you the percentage of searches being done from phones on different search engines.

7.   Outdated Content

Do not neglect the content on your website. For Example: Not updating your staff page can be a big offender. So, Make sure that your employee page is current. Not only by who actually works there still but the headshots of the employees too. We all know that you would prefer to be seen as your 10-year younger you, but once someone comes to do business with you it will cause confusion and mistrust. Plus, if you can’t keep your website up to date how would anyone trust you to make sure that the services you provide for your customers are going to be top level.

8.  No Call To Actions

You are going to miss sales and leads if you do not explicitly tell your website visitors what you want them to do. Examples of call to actions are ,BUY NOW, Get More Info, Sign Up Today, Contact Us Today... You should have a business goal for every page on your website. Call To Actions are the only way that people are going to actually complete those goals. The bigger point here is to make sure you DO have a goal for your website. What are typical goals for websites that aren’t e-commerce? Signing up for your email newsletter, following you on social media, requesting an appointment, requesting information on one of your products or services. Get it? So, it’s not just about making a sale. It is about getting people to give you information about themselves or their needs which leads to a sale.

9.   Missing Website Analytics

Real quick! Can you find out how many people visited your website last month, yesterday, right now? Do you know what were the most popular pages on your website? Do you know what pages people left your website from the most? All of these questions are found inside your website analytics. We use Google Analytics to track the success of all the websites we build. If you don’t know how to get this data, find out how to now.

Learn More About Google Analytics And How It Helps Your Business!

10.  An Outdated Website Design

I know you hear all the time about styles and trends coming back in style. But, that is not true about technology especially your website. If your website is hitting the 3-year-old mark it is time to get a new one no matter how much you love it, sorry. Most websites are built to work on current browsers, and with the way that browsers change your website coding can become outdated fast which will render it inoperable. If people cannot use your website then what is the point of having one? And, if your website isn’t clean or current looking then your website visitors may mark you off the list before they contact you.

LEARN How We Help Businesses With Web Designs!

11.  Empty or Outdated Blog

We know! Thinking of new topics to write about every single month can be SUPER hard! But, This is one that drives me nutty. We used to make the client gives us three blog posts before we would turn on a blog for their websites. Having a totally empty blog is the worst! Check back soon for our Blog Writing Success Plan! ( Or contact us for a copy early)

12. Non-Claimed Listings on Google, Yelp, Yellow Page, Apple Maps

DID YOU KNOW… That Apple uses Yelp reviews in its results! YES, Apple uses Yelp.. Crazy. So, you need to make sure you have these listings claimed and you are getting your customers to leave positive reviews. Plus, there is an SEO benefit to having them all updated and linking to your website. On Google, your business listing is what also helps you appear in the maps section. Lastly, if you have no reviews and your clients have lots, prospects will call them first. I know from experience. Feel free to see my Google Business HERE! ( leave me a review if you like this article 🙂 )

13. Images That Take Forever To Load

Not only does your website visitor not take the time to wait for it to fully load, but it slows your whole website down. So, make sure you size the images to put on your website down to as close to the exact size they need to be on your website.

14. Missing Logos of Organizations You Belong To

This is an example of something called “Social Proof”. It helps build credibility with your website visitors to help them know you are a real business and active in the community. Plus, linking out to them is a good sign for search engines.

15. One Page with All Your Products or Services Listed

Yes, having one page with all your products and services makes it easy for your customers to see in general what you offer and do. But, you need to take it a step further and create separate pages for each product and service you offer. Yes, it will take you longer to write all that content. BUT, it will help you get more leads and it will help your website rank higher in search engines.

16.  Hard to Find Contact Information

You would be amazed at how hard it is to get someone’s phone number sometimes. I see this all the time too. Not only should it be on the contact page, but your phone number for your business should be at the top of your website somewhere. AND, it needs to be linked up so someone can “click to call” from it. With mobile searches from phones rising rapidly easy to find contact info is critical!

17.  No Client Testimonials

Just like the importance of having your happy clients leave reviews on your business listings like google and facebook, it is equally important to have those happy reviews on your website. So, the easiest thing is to just ask for one and then put them on your website. Plus, the clients get some free advertising by being seen by every website visitor you have.

18.  Missing Contact Us Form

Not sure why of how this happens..But, I have seen websites that either have a messed up contact us form or it’s totally missing. I get you would rather have the prospect call you, but it’s about making it as easy as possible for that person to send you a note on their terms.

19.    Confusing Website Navigation Menu

Also known as a sitemap. It’s the navigation or “menu” for your website. You need to keep this clean and simple. Don’t put too much in the main bar, and try to organize it as much as possible.

But, if your site navigation is too overwhelming your website visitor may give up and move on to another company to look for their answers or help. They may also “bounce” or leave and that could hurt your website SEO!

20.  A Nondescript “Fluffy” Welcome message

What is a welcome message? A Welcome Message is the first paragraph on the homepage of your website. It “welcomes” your website visitor to your site kinda like the Door Greeters at Walmart. 🙂 This one kills me though… I get you want to use soft words to make the website visitor feel at home and all nestled, but you need to say exactly what you do in it. There have been times that I have gone to websites unsure if a company could help me and left the website not sure of what they do at all.

So, in addition to your prospect being confused, you could also leave Google confused. You can decide which is worse..short run versus the long run. Google uses that text to rank your website in search. So, if it’s generic it makes it harder on Google to figure you out.

21. Generic or Incomplete About Us Page

Sometimes I think people put the least amount of effort into this page. This is an important page when people are trying to figure out if they can trust you. You have to think about this page on your website as part of the process of creating a relationship with your potential customers. So, put the info on the years in business, list of key clients and key employees is how you should do it. Pretend like you are being interviewed for a job, tell your story here.

22.   No Logos of Certifications

Just like testimonials, Just like Chamber and Association logos and links, If you have certifications you need them on your website. It is another level of social proof that will help you build that much-needed trust to get someone to contact you about your services.

23.   Bad Or No Photos Of Your Work Samples Or Products

Hey, iPhones take great pictures! But, make sure you spend some extra time and money and get good sample pictures done. And, also make sure you keep your portfolio current with your latest work.

24. No Google Search Console Account

This has been one of the biggest things that I have found lately missing from websites of new clients. And, I can understand that to the novice it is pretty much unheard of. But, there is so much valuable data that can be pulled from Google Search Console about your website’s performance in search that it is a pretty big oversight. I wrote an article about all the benefits of Google Search Console, check it out!

25.  UnReliable Website Hosting

Not only does this drive your customers crazy and causes them to lose trust in you and your company, but it will drive the search engines crazy as well. If a search engine hits your website to index it and your site is down.. well, there go any rankings you had. So, make sure you have a reliable hosting program that keeps you up and running smoothly. The cheapest price isn’t normally the best either.

26.  No Website Backup Service

You won’t need this until you need it. I’ve been there and done that and it’s horrible to have to start over from scratch. Then your website is in disarray while you get it back up and your customers are confused because of it too.

27.   Small or Light Colored Fonts in Content Areas

The time-tested battle between Art and function..The number one reason for text to be on your website is for it to be readable! When you get too artistic with your font color choice it makes it hard to read and then all the time you spent on that content to sell someone something basically goes to waste.

28.  No Facebook Pixel

This is still one of the most powerful marketing tools on the planet, and if the Facebook pixel isn’t on your website you are losing valuable data from your website visitors to market to them later. So, it will hurt your marketing efforts by making this website mistake. Here is some more info on some of the great things you can do when you have the Facebook pixel on your website.

29. No SSL

The big ole red X you get when you do to a website that doesn’t have an SSL is SCARY!! Most people will not proceed to your website. Other things it does is help keep your website secure, and google likes that so they give you some points for having an SSL.

This list has been created from working with clients on websites for over 12 years. So, I hope you’ve enjoyed this list! As I think of more I’ll be adding them here. If you have questions or would like help making sure you are taking full advantage of everything the digital marketing world has to offer, please Contact Me Today!